Equipment

Advantages of Hydroponics

Hydroponics is a growing movement (get it!) thats progressed has been helped by the likes of Nasa and global food giants. That knowledge and that technology can be used by the likes of us in all manner of gardening tasks whether you like pot plants, greenhouses or simply to enhance the growth of your own garden efforts.

Control

Hydroponics is a system of cultivation that allows you to very precisely control what it is that goes into your plants. Not only do you control what your plants take up but you don’t have to worry about what washes off them. Since your plants are not part of the bio culture of a garden, there is no need to worry about fertilizer washing off your plants and causing damage to local water systems.

Speed

Plants in soil take time to find the nutrients they need through their roots, but by exposing that root to exactly what it wants when it wants it you're able to speed up and slow down the process of growth.

No Garden

Another big advantage of this system is that you can do it even if you don’t have a garden. Without the need for soil it is possible to grow plants anywhere. You can also get more plants into smaller space, because they do not need to compete for the nutrients from the soil as you provide the needed amounts of nutrients directly to their roots.

Taste

As you are able to control what goes into your crops so precisely, there are those who would argue that the food you produce tastes much better than traditionally grown crops.

“[Plants] grow extremely rapidly because they have all the nutrients and water they need. It’s much better than field production because in the soil, you have insects and not enough water or nutrients,”
, “,”

Dr. James Rakocy

Father of Aquaponics

Hydroponic methods

Hydroponics is method of growing plant without using soil. Instead the roots are allowed to grow through a nutrient rich solution that is water based. The water is run through an alternative medium, such as sand, clay balls or fibreglass. There are three main systems for hydroponics.

Wick Systems

These are generally considered to be the easiest and most simple to set up of the systems. A reservoir feeds the system and is situated below the container with the growing medium. The reservoir and the growth medium are connected by a wick. The nutrient filled water is drawn up through the wick into the growth medium where the plants are able to absorb it through their roots.For gardeners who are new to hydroponics this is a great first system that is ideal for growing crops like, micro greens, peppers and herb. It does not work well for water hungry crops as the wick cannot supply the water fast enough.

Ebb and Flow

These are the more complicated system but also the most versatile. In this system you pump the water into the growing medium completely flooding it, and then you pump the water back out again. This means that you require a submersible pump housed inside your reservoir that is set up with a timer. With the timer you can customise your system so that the flow of the water is optimal for the crop that you are growing.Since the system is versatile you can grow almost any type of plant in this system, as long as you have a good understanding of their water needs. With a little trail and error you can make this system work for whatever it is that you wish to grow.

Water Culture

In this system an air pump is added to the reservoir to oxygenate the water. The plants are then placing into Styrofoam which floats atop the water. It is as simple as that.This system is great for water hungry plants, as they have direct and easy access to the water they need. Longer term plants don’t tend to thrive in this system however.